Apparatus for additive manufacturing

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprising a control unit configured for applying a first powder layer on a work table, directing a first energy beam from a first energy beam source over said work table causing said first powder layer to fuse in first selected locations according to a corresponding model to form a first cross section of said at least one three-dimensional article, where said first energy beam is fusing a first article with parallel scan lines in a first direction, fusing a second scan line in said first direction in said first layer in said first article within a predetermined time interval after fusing a first scan line in said first article, wherein at least one intermediate scan line is fused within said time interval at another predetermined position and where said first and second scan lines are adjacent to each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to and thebenefit of U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 14/452,308,filed Aug. 5, 2014, which application claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/880,555, filed Sep. 20, 2013, thecontents of both of which as are hereby incorporated by reference hereinin their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for additive manufacturing ofthree-dimensional articles.

Related Art

Freeform fabrication or additive manufacturing is a method for formingthree-dimensional articles through successive fusion of chosen parts ofpowder layers applied to a worktable. A method and apparatus accordingto this technique is disclosed in US 2009/0152771.

Such an apparatus may comprise a work table on which thethree-dimensional article is to be formed, a powder dispenser, arrangedto lay down a thin layer of powder on the work table for the formationof a powder bed, a ray gun for delivering energy to the powder wherebyfusion of the powder takes place, elements for control of the ray givenoff by the ray gun over the powder bed for the formation of a crosssection of the three-dimensional article through fusion of parts of thepowder bed, and a controlling computer, in which information is storedconcerning consecutive cross sections of the three-dimensional article.A three-dimensional article is formed through consecutive fusions ofconsecutively formed cross sections of powder layers, successively laiddown by the powder dispenser.

There is a demand for additive manufacturing techniques which is capableof building three-dimensional articles faster and faster withoutsacrificing the material properties of the final product.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to various embodiment, an article of the invention is toprovide a method and apparatus which enables a fast production ofthree-dimensional articles by freeform fabrication or additivemanufacturing without sacrificing the quality of the final product. Theabovementioned article is achieved by the features in the methodaccording to the claims provided herein.

In a first aspect according to various embodiments of the invention itis provided a method for forming at least two separate three-dimensionalregions through successive fusion of parts of a powder bed, which partscorrespond to successive cross sections of the three-dimensionalregions. The method comprises the steps of: providing models of thethree-dimensional regions, applying a first powder layer on a worktable, directing a first energy beam from a first energy beam sourceover the work table causing the first powder layer to fuse in firstselected locations according to corresponding models to form a firstcross section of the three-dimensional regions, where the first energybeam is fusing a first region with parallel scan lines in a firstdirection and a second region with parallel scan lines in a seconddirection, fusing at least one of the scan lines in the first region inthe first direction immediately before fusing at least one of the scanlines in the second region in the second direction, applying a secondpowder layer on the at least partially fused first powder layer,directing the energy beam over the work table causing the second powderlayer to fuse in second selected locations according to correspondingmodels to form a second cross section of the three-dimensional regions,where the energy beam is fusing the first region with parallel scanlines in a third direction and the second region with parallel scanlines in a fourth direction, and fusing at least one of the scan linesin the first region in the third direction immediately before fusing atleast one of the scan lines in another region in the fourth direction.

One non-limiting advantage of various embodiments of the presentinvention is that the manufacturing time may be decreased because thescan speed within a particular article may be increased withoutaffecting the build temperature. This is because two adjacent scan linesfor fusing a particular powder layer in a single region is interruptedby at least another scan line in another region. This means that thescan speed may be increased compared to if the adjacent scan lines werefused one after the other. Using a too high scan speed when melting twoadjacent scan lines in a particular layer in a particular region mayresult in a too high build temperature, which may, in turn, affect themechanical properties of the material. Improved mechanical propertiesmay also result from the fact that the scanning direction in twosubsequent layers are rotated with respect to each other removingdefects which may otherwise may be amplified by using the same scanningdirection for overlaying layers.

In an exemplary and non-limiting embodiment of the present invention the“another” region is the second region. This means that the scanningorder in the first and a subsequent layer is the same. In anotherexample embodiment of the present invention the another region is athird region which means that the scanning order in the first and asubsequent layer is different. An advantage of at least theseembodiments is that the scanning order may be set so as to achieve thebuilding temperature interval with as little manufacturing time aspossible.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the firstand second regions are within a single three-dimensional article. Thismeans that the single article may have cross sections which arephysically separate from each other. In another example embodiment thefirst and second regions are provided two separate three-dimensionalarticles, which means that two distinct three dimensional articles aremanufactured.

Still further, according to various embodiments, another advantage ofthe present invention is that the inventive method is applicable bothwhen one or several three dimensional articles is manufactured.

In still another example embodiment the first and second directions areparallel. In yet another example embodiment the third and fourthdirections are parallel. This means that at least two regions in thesame powder layer may be fused with scan lines having the samedirection. The advantage of this embodiment may be that it saves sometime since the many of the settings of the energy beam are the same forthe first and second regions.

In still another example embodiment according to the present inventionthe first and/or second direction is rotated an angle α with respect tothe third and/or fourth direction, where 1°≦α≦179°. The advantage of atleast this embodiment is that there might be different scanningdirections within a first single layer for different articles and thosescanning directions may be rotated the angle α when fusing the nextpowder layer. The rotation angle may be different for different articlesfrom one layer to another. This may be advantageous when the shapes ofthe articles to be manufactured are different so that different scanningdirections for different articles with different shape may decrease thetotal building time.

In still another example embodiment of the present the scan lines in atleast one layer of at least one three-dimensional article may bestraight lines. In another example embodiment the scan lines in at leastone layer of at least one three-dimensional article may be meandering.The advantage of at least this embodiment is that material propertiesmay still further be improved by alternating straight line scanninglines with meandering scanning line for subsequent layers in the threedimensional article.

In still another example embodiment the scan lines in at least one layerof at least a first three-dimensional region are fused with a firstenergy beam from a first energy beam source and at least one layer of atleast a second three-dimensional region is fused with a second energybeam from a second energy beam source. The advantage of at least thisembodiment is that multiple energy beam sources may still decrease themanufacturing time. Another advantage is that different energy beamsused for different layers in the three-dimensional article may removedefects which are amplified because of small repetitive defects comingfrom a single energy beam source or its deflection mechanism.

In still another example embodiment the first energy beam is emanatingfrom a first electron beam source and the second energy beam isemanating from a first laser beam source. In another example embodimentthe first energy beam is emanating from a first electron beam source andthe second energy beam is emanating from a second electron beam source.In yet another example embodiment the first energy beam is emanatingfrom a first laser beam source and the second energy beam is emanatingfrom a second laser beam source. Using different types of energy beamsources such as a laser beam source and an electron beam source maystill further improve the material characteristics of the threedimensional article since. In an example embodiment when using twoenergy beam source of the same type they may differ in powder outputand/or maximum deflection angle. This may be used in order to tailor thematerial properties of the final product.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the firstand second energy beams are fusing at least the first and secondthree-dimensional regions simultaneously. This may be performed byactually impinging the two energy beam at exactly the same positionsimultaneously. Another way is to first melt scan with the first energybeam and thereafter melt at least a portion of the already fused trackwith the second energy beam. In yet another embodiment the first energybeam is used for finalizing a first scan line and the second energy beamis used for finalizing a second scan line, where the first and secondscan lines are arranged at a predetermined distance from each other.These embodiments may further decrease the manufacturing time and/orimprove the material characteristics of the final product.

In another aspect of various embodiments according to the presentinvention, a method is provided for forming at least onethree-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of a powderbed, which parts correspond to successive cross sections of thethree-dimensional article. The method comprises the steps of: providinga model of the at least one three-dimensional article, applying a firstpowder layer on a work table, directing a first energy beam from a firstenergy beam source over the work table causing the first powder layer tofuse in first selected locations according to the corresponding model toform a first cross section of the at least one three-dimensionalarticle, where the first energy beam is fusing a first article withparallel scan lines in a first direction, and fusing a second scan linein the first direction in the first layer in the first article within apredetermined time interval after fusing a first scan line in the firstarticle, wherein at least one intermediate scan line is fused within thetime interval at another predetermined position and where the first andsecond scan lines are adjacent to each other.

In at least this embodiment of the invention it is stated that the timebetween two adjacent scan lines in a particular article is within apredetermined time interval. This is to ensure that the buildtemperature is not above or below a predetermined temperature interval.Waiting too long between too adjacent scan lines may result in too muchcooling of the three dimensional article resulting in a too low buildtemperature and a too short time between two adjacent scan lines mayresult in a not sufficient cooling of the three dimensional articleresulting in a too high build temperature. The time period between twoadjacent scan lines for a particular layer of a particular threedimensional article may be used for an intermediate scan line at anotherposition with respect to the first and second scan lines. The advantageof this embodiment is that the manufacturing time may be reduced becausethe time between two adjacent scanning lines for a particular article isused for scanning elsewhere.

In an example embodiment of the present invention the intermediate scanline is within the first article. This means that the intermediate scanline is provided at another position in the same article compared to thefirst and second adjacent scan lines. The advantage of at least thisembodiment is that the manufacturing time of a single three dimensionalarticle may be reduced.

In an example embodiment of the present invention the intermediate scanline is provided at a predetermined distance from the first and secondscan lines. This is to ensure that the build temperature of thethree-dimensional article can be controlled within the temperatureinterval. If providing the intermediate scan line to close to any one ofthe first or second scan line the build temperature may be reach abovethe predetermined temperature interval with maintained scan speed,alternatively the scan speed has to be decreased but that may not bedesirable.

In still another example embodiment the intermediate scan line is inanother article. This will require a manufacturing of at least twoarticles at the same time. If more than two articles are manufacturedthe intermediate scan line may jump to any one of the otherthree-dimensional articles having a cross section in the same powderlayer. The advantage of providing the intermediate scan line in anotherthree dimensional article is that there may be less requirement fortaking care of a distance between a former scan line in the same powderlayer. In an example embodiment with a plurality of three dimensionalarticles one or more of the three dimensional article may be built up ofa plurality of intermediate scan lines or all of its scan line beingintermediate scan lines. In the example of a build with two threedimensional articles every second scan line could be provided on a firstarticle and the rest, the intermediate scan lines, in the secondarticle.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the methodmay further comprise the steps of: applying a second powder layer on theat least partially fused first powder layer, directing the energy beamover the second powder layer causing the second powder layer to fuse insecond selected locations according to a corresponding model to form asecond cross section of the three dimensional article, where the energybeam is fusing the first article with parallel scan lines in a seconddirection, and fusing a second scan line in the second direction in thefirst article in the second layer within a predetermined time intervalafter fusing a first scan line in the first article in the seconddirection, wherein at least one intermediate scan lines is fused withinthe time interval at another predetermined position and where the firstand second scan lines in the second direction are adjacent to eachother.

In the second layer the scan direction has been changed in comparisonwith the first layer for eliminating or reducing the effects of anydefects which may result if fusing two adjacent layers with the samescanning direction. As in the first layer the scanning strategy is touse the idle time between two adjacent scan lines in a particulararticle and layer for fusing elsewhere. Elsewhere could in an exampleembodiment be as in the first layer in the same article at apredetermined distance from the first and second adjacent scan lines. Inanother exemplary embodiment the intermediate scan line may fuse anotherarticle in the same manner as for the first layer.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention the a firstscan line in at least one layer of the at least one three-dimensionalarticle is fused with a first energy beam from a first energy beamsource and a second scan line in at least one layer of the at least onethree-dimensional article is fused with a second energy beam from asecond energy beam source. The advantage of at least this embodiment isthat the manufacturing time may be decreased and the material propertymay be improved.

The first and second energy beam sources may be emanating from the sametype of energy beam source such as a first and second laser beam sourceand a first and second electron beam source or different type of energybeam sources such as a laser beam source and an electron beam source.When using the same type of energy beam source the powder output, beamcharacteristics, maximum deflection angle etc. may differ between thefirst and second source for making it possible to tailor the materialproperties of the three dimensional article.

According to various embodiments, the scan lines may be straight line ormeandering lines and the scan lines in a first layer for a particulararticle may be rotated an angle α, where 1°≦α≦179°.

Herein and throughout, where an exemplary embodiment is described or anadvantage thereof is identified, such are considered and intended asexemplary and non-limiting in nature, so as to not otherwise limit orconstrain the scope and nature of the inventive concepts disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The invention will be further described in the following, in anon-limiting way with reference to the accompanying drawings. Samecharacters of reference are employed to indicate corresponding similarparts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art hatch algorithm for a single layer of fourdifferent three-dimensional articles;

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a virtual move of the articles in FIG.1 according to an example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an apparatus in which the present invention may beimplemented;

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a virtual move of articles in FIG. 1according to an example embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts schematically a scan line order for the horizontal scanlines in the three-dimensional articles in FIG. 1 according to anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 depicts schematically a scan line order for the vertical scanlines in the three-dimensional articles in FIG. 1 according to anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a schematic flowchart of an example embodiment of themethod according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 depicts a schematic top view of the scan lines in a first layerof two three dimensional articles; and

FIG. 9 depicts a schematic top view of the scan lines in a second layerof the two three dimensional articles in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed,embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. Unless otherwise defined, alltechnical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning ascommonly known and understood by one of ordinary skill in the art towhich the invention relates. The term “or” is used herein in both thealternative and conjunctive sense, unless otherwise indicated. Likenumbers refer to like elements throughout.

To facilitate the understanding of this invention, a number of terms aredefined below. Terms defined herein have meanings as commonly understoodby a person of ordinary skill in the areas relevant to the presentinvention. Terms such as “a”, “an” and “the” are not intended to referto only a singular entity, but include the general class of which aspecific example may be used for illustration. The terminology herein isused to describe specific embodiments of the invention, but their usagedoes not delimit the invention, except as outlined in the claims.

The term “three-dimensional structures” and the like as used hereinrefer generally to intended or actually fabricated three-dimensionalconfigurations (e.g. of structural material or materials) that areintended to be used for a particular purpose. Such structures, etc. may,for example, be designed with the aid of a three-dimensional CAD system.

The term “electron beam” as used herein in various embodiments refers toany charged particle beam. The sources of a charged particle beam caninclude an electron gun, a linear accelerator and so on.

FIG. 3 depicts an example embodiment of a freeform fabrication oradditive manufacturing apparatus 300 according to prior art in which thepresent invention may be implemented. The apparatus 300 comprises anelectron source 306; two powder hoppers 304, 314; a start plate 316; abuild tank 310; a powder distributor 328; a build platform 302; a vacuumchamber 320, a beam deflection unit 307 and a control unit 308. FIG. 3discloses only one beam source for sake of simplicity. Of course, anynumber of beam sources may be used.

The vacuum chamber 320 is capable of maintaining a vacuum environment bymeans of or via a vacuum system, which system may comprise aturbomolecular pump, a scroll pump, an ion pump and one or more valveswhich are well known to a skilled person in the art and therefore needno further explanation in this context. The vacuum system may becontrolled by the control unit 308. In another embodiment the build tankmay be provided in an enclosable chamber provided with ambient air andatmosphere pressure. In still another example embodiment the buildchamber may be provided in open air.

The electron beam source 306 is generating an electron beam, which maybe used for melting or fusing together powder material 305 provided onthe work table. At least a portion of the electron beam source 306 maybe provided in the vacuum chamber 320. The control unit 308 may be usedfor controlling and managing the electron beam emitted from the electronbeam source 306. The electron beam 351 may be deflected between at leasta first extreme position 351 a and at least a second extreme position351 b.

At least one focusing coil, at least one deflection coil and an electronbeam power supply may be electrically connected to the control unit 308.The beam deflection unit 307 may comprise the at least one focusingcoil, the at least one deflection coil and optionally at least oneastigmatism coil. In an example embodiment of the invention the electronbeam source may generate a focusable electron beam with an acceleratingvoltage of about 60 kV and with a beam power in the range of 0-3 kW. Thepressure in the vacuum chamber may be in the range of 10⁻³-10⁻⁶ mBarwhen building the three-dimensional article by fusing the powder layerby layer with the energy beam source 306.

Instead of melting the powder material with an electron beam, one ormore laser beams and/or electron beams may be used. Each laser beam maynormally be deflected by one or more movable mirror provided in thelaser beam path between the laser beam source and the work table ontowhich the powder material is arranged which is to be fused by the laserbeam. The control unit 308 may manage the deflection of the mirrors soas to steer the laser beam to a predetermined position on the worktable.

The powder hoppers 304, 314 may comprise the powder material to beprovided on the start plate 316 in the build tank 310. The powdermaterial may for instance be pure metals or metal alloys such astitanium, titanium alloys, aluminum, aluminum alloys, stainless steel,Co—Cr—W alloy, and the like. Instead of two powder hoppers, one powderhopper may be used. Other designs and/or mechanism for of the powdersupply may be used, for instance a powder tank with a height-adjustablefloor.

The powder distributor 328 may be arranged to lay down a thin layer ofthe powder material on the start plate 316. During a work cycle thebuild platform 302 will be lowered successively in relation to theenergy beam source after each added layer of powder material. In orderto make this movement possible, the build platform 302 is in oneembodiment of the invention arranged movably in vertical direction,i.e., in the direction indicated by arrow P. This means that the buildplatform 302 may start in an initial position, in which a first powdermaterial layer of necessary thickness has been laid down on the startplate 316. A first layer of powder material may be thicker than theother applied layers. The reason for starting with a first layer whichis thicker than the other layers is that one may not want a melt-throughof the first layer onto the start plate. The build platform maythereafter be lowered in connection with laying down a new powdermaterial layer for the formation of a new cross section of athree-dimensional article. Means for lowering the build platform 302 mayfor instance be through a servo engine equipped with a gear, adjustingscrews, and the like.

In FIG. 7 it is depicted a flow chart of an example embodiment of amethod according to the present invention for forming at least twoseparate three-dimensional articles through successive fusion of partsof a powder bed, which parts correspond to successive cross sections ofthe three-dimensional article. The method comprising a first step 702 ofproviding models of the three dimensional articles. The models may be acomputer model generated via a CAD (Computer Aided Design) tool. Thethree-dimensional articles which are to be built may be equal ordifferent to each other.

In a second step 704 a first powder layer is provided on a work table.The work table may be the start plate 316, the build platform 302, apowder bed or a partially fused powder bed. The powder may bedistributed evenly over the worktable according to several methods. Oneway to distribute the powder is to collect material fallen down from thehopper 304, 314 by a rake system. The rake or powder distributor 328 maybe moved over the build tank and thereby distributing the powder overthe work table.

A distance between a lower part of the rake and the upper part of thestart plate or previous powder layer determines the thickness of powderdistributed over the work table. The powder layer thickness can easilybe adjusted by adjusting the height of the build platform 302.

In a third step 706 a first energy beam is directed from a first energybeam source over the work table causing the first powder layer to fusein first selected locations according to corresponding models to form afirst cross section of the three-dimensional articles 303.

The first energy beam may be fusing a first article with parallel scanlines in a first direction and a second article with parallel scan linesin a second direction.

The first energy beam may be an electron beam or a laser beam. The beamis directed over the work table from instructions given by the controlunit 308. In the control unit 308 instructions for how to control thebeam source 306 for each layer of the three-dimensional article may bestored.

In FIG. 1 it is disclosed a scan line algorithm according to prior art.In FIG. 1 four square formed articles 102, 104, 106, 108 are arranged ina slanted line, where the diagonal line in each square is parallel withthe slanted line. The scan line algorithm according to prior art scansone article after the other, i.e., starting with the article 108 andcompleting the melting of the article before starting to melt the nextarticle, which in FIG. 1 is article 106. Each square is illustrated tohave five scan lines. Hatching four squares requires 20 scan lines intotal. In an example embodiment the time it takes for a scan line to bemelted is independent of its length, within a predetermined maximumlength of the scan length. This means that the time it takes to melt along scan line is equal to the time it takes to melt a short scan line.This strategy may be used for controlling the temperature ofthree-dimensional article which is to be manufactured. If a scan linewould arrive at a previously fused area to early the surface and/or thebulk temperature of the three dimensional article may increase over apredetermined maximum temperature, which in turn may affect themicrostructure, internal stress and/or tensile strength of the material.

In a fourth step 708 at least one of the scan lines in the first articleis fused in the first direction immediately before fusing at least oneof the scan lines in the second article in the second direction.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically a virtual move of the articles in FIG.1 according to an example embodiment of the present invention. Thefigure serves only the purpose to exemplify how the inventive method isworking and is not part of the method as such. If the articles would bearranged in the way as illustrated in FIG. 2 a horizontal scan line inarticle 102 may directly continue in article 104, i.e., a first scanline from a first article may be merged with a first scan line in asecond article. By doing so longer scan lines can be created bycombining independent and physically separated regions. The scan linesin a first article, for instance article 102, may be in a firstdirection and scan lines in a second article, for instance article 104,may be in a second direction. In FIGS. 1 and 2 the all scan lines areillustrated to be in one and the same direction. However, differentdirections of scan lines may be used for different articles. Thecombination of a first scan line in a first article in a first directionmay nevertheless be possible although the direction of the scan line ina second article is in a second direction which may be different to thefirst direction. In FIG. 5 it is illustrated that the number ofeffective scan lines is reduced from 20 to 5 by the inventive method.This means that the manufacturing speed may decrease by a factor 4 incomparison with the prior art scan line algorithm as illustrated inFIG. 1. The reduction in manufacturing time is due to the fact that thescan speed may be increased with maintained build temperature of thethree dimensional article. Two consecutive scan lines for a singlearticle and single layer may be separated by a predetermined timeinterval. In an example embodiment of the present inventive method otherarticles are scanned within the predetermined time interval. The morethe scan speed is increased the more articles may be scanned within thepredetermined time interval. An upper limit of the scan speed may be thepower of the energy beam source. In order to melt a specific material aspecific energy deposition into the material is required. Whenincreasing the scan speed for a given energy beam spot size, the powerof the energy beam is required to increase in order to deposit the sameamount of energy into the material. At a certain scan speed a maximumpower level of the energy beam source may be reached, i.e., the scanspeed may not be increased any more without decreasing the energydeposit into the material.

In a fifth step 710 a second powder layer is applied on the alreadypartially fused first powder layer. This may be performed in a similarmanner as the first powder is applied.

In a sixth step 712 the energy beam is directed over the work tablecausing the second powder layer to fuse in second selected locationsaccording to corresponding models to form a second cross section of thethree dimensional articles, where the energy beam is fusing the firstarticle with parallel scan lines in a third direction and the secondarticle with parallel scan lines in a fourth direction.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a virtual move and rotation of thearticles in FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment of the presentinvention. The figure serves only the purpose to exemplify how theinventive method is working and is not part of the method as such. Thearticles are rotated 90° clockwise before arranging the articles in avertical row. As in FIG. 2, the effective number of scan lines isreduced from 20 to 5 as depicted in FIG. 6, resulting in a manufacturingtime reduction by a factor 4 with respect to the prior art method. InFIGS. 4 and 6 the direction of the scan lines is illustrated to bevertical for the second powder layer, i.e., the scan lines are rotated90° with respect to the scan lines for the first powder layer. However,the scan lines for the second powder layer may be rotated by any angleα, where 1°≦α≦179°. It is also depicted in FIGS. 4 and 6 that eacharticle 102, 104, 106, 108 have scan lines in one and the samedirection. In an example embodiment a first article may have a thirdscan direction and a second article a fourth scan direction. In anotherexample embodiment the scan lines in at least one powder layer of atleast one article may be meandering instead of the illustrated straightlines in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6.

In a seventh step 714 at least one of the scan lines in the firstarticle is fused in the third direction immediately before fusing atleast one of the scan lines in another article in the fourth direction.In FIG. 6 it is clear that a first scan line in the first article 102 isfused immediately before a first scan line in the second article 104.However, for the first powder layer, see FIG. 5, the first scan line forthe first article 102 is fused after the first scan line for the otherarticles 104, 106, 108. In an example embodiment the scan line order maybe rearranged, e.g., the line order in FIG. 5 may start with a firstscan line in article 106 or 104 instead of 108.

The “another” article may in an example embodiment be the secondarticle; alternatively the “another” article may be a third article.

For instance if the first powder layer only comprises the four articlesas illustrated in FIG. 5, one scan line of the first article may befused immediately before the fourth article (line order 4 in article 102and line order 5 in article 108). In the second powder layer, asillustrated in FIG. 6, none of the scan lines in the first article 102is fused immediately before the fourth article 108, i.e., the anotherarticle is a third article in the illustrated embodiment. However, ifamending the scan line order so that the fourth article 108 and thesecond article 104 are changing places with each other, the anotherarticle will be the same article as in the first powder layer, i.e., thefourth article.

In an example embodiment of the present invention the first and/orsecond scan line direction may be rotated an angle α with respect to thethird and/or fourth scan line direction, so that none of the scan linesextended from the first or second three-dimensional article willintersect the other three-dimensional article. This means that theextension of the scan lines after rotation in the second powder layer isselected so that a predetermined three-dimensional article is notintersected by the extended (virtual) scan line. This may happen with asingle predetermined rotation or after a predetermined number of fusedlayers rotated a predetermined angle.

In an example embodiment of the present invention the scan lines in atleast one layer of at least a first three-dimensional article are fusedwith a first energy beam from a first energy beam source and at leastone layer of at least a second three-dimensional article is fused with asecond energy beam from a second energy beam source. More than oneenergy beam source may be used for fusing the scan lines. In anotherexample embodiment a first energy beam source may be used for scanningdirections within a first range of angles and a second energy beamsource may be used for scanning directions within a second range ofangles. The first end second ranges of angles may be overlapping ornon-overlapping with each other. A first energy beam may emanate from anelectron beam source and the second energy beam from a laser source. Thefirst and second energy beam sources may be of the same type, i.e., afirst and second electron beam source or a first and second laser beamsource. The first and second energy beam sources may be used in sequenceor simultaneously.

By using more than one energy beam source the build temperature of thethree-dimensional build may more easily be maintained compared to ifjust one beam source is used. The reason for this is that two beam maybe at more locations simultaneously than just one beam. Increasing thenumber of beam sources will further ease the control of the buildtemperature. By using a plurality of energy beam sources a first energybeam source may be used for melting the powder material and a secondenergy beam source may be used for heating the powder material in orderto keep the build temperature within a predetermined temperature range.

After a first layer is finished, i.e., the fusion of powder material formaking a first layer of the three-dimensional article, a second powderlayer is provided on the work table 316. The second powder layer is incertain embodiments distributed according to the same manner as theprevious layer. However, there might be other methods in the sameadditive manufacturing machine for distributing powder onto the worktable. For instance, a first layer may be provided by means of or via afirst powder distributor, a second layer may be provided by anotherpowder distributor. The design of the powder distributor isautomatically changed according to instructions from the control unit. Apowder distributor in the form of a single rake system, i.e., where onerake is catching powder fallen down from both a left powder hopper 306and a right powder hopper 307, the rake as such can change design.

After having distributed the second powder layer on the work table 316,the energy beam from the energy beam source may be directed over thework table 316 causing the second powder layer to fuse in selectedlocations according to the model to form second cross sections of thethree-dimensional article. Fused portions in the second layer may bebonded to fused portions of the first layer. The fused portions in thefirst and second layer may be melted together by melting not only thepowder in the uppermost layer but also remelting at least a fraction ofa thickness of a layer directly below the uppermost layer.

In another example embodiment a first scan line in a first layer in afirst article in a first direction and a second scan line in the firstarticle in the first direction is separated by N scan lines in Narticles, where N is an integer 1≦N. A first scan line in a second layerin a first article in a second direction and a second scan line in thefirst article in the second direction is separated by N scan lines in Narticles, where N is an integer 1≦N. The N articles may be the samearticles in the first layer as in the second layer. In an exampleembodiment the N articles may be fused in a first order in the firstlayer and in a second order in the second layer. In another embodimentthe order of fusion is equal for the N articles in the first layer andthe second layer. The merging of scan lines for different articles mayreduce the manufacturing time of the three dimensional articles. Theorder of fusing different scan lines in a predetermined layer may alsodepend on a heat model for the three-dimensional article, i.e., theorder may not be chosen stochastically without affecting a buildtemperature of the article which may need to be within a predeterminedtemperature range.

In another example embodiment according to the present invention it isprovided a method for forming at least one three-dimensional articlethrough successive fusion of parts of a powder bed, which partscorrespond to successive cross sections of the three-dimensionalarticle, the method comprising the steps of: providing a model of the atleast one three-dimensional article, applying a first powder layer on awork table, directing a first energy beam from a first energy beamsource over the work table causing the first powder layer to fuse infirst selected locations according to the corresponding model to form afirst cross section of the at least one three-dimensional article, wherethe first energy beam is fusing a first article with parallel scan linesin a first direction, fusing a second scan line in the first directionin the first layer in the first article within a predetermined timeinterval after fusing a first scan line in the first article, wherein atleast one intermediate scan line is fused within the time interval atanother predetermined position and where the first and second scan linesare adjacent to each other.

In FIG. 8 it is depicted top layers of a first three dimensional articleA, and a second three dimensional article B. The first three dimensionalarticle A is scanned with horizontal scan lines 81, 82, 83, 84 and 84.The second article B is scanned with vertical scan lines 801, 802, 803and 804. Two adjacent scan lines, for instance scan line 81 and scanline 82 in the first three dimensional article A are fused within apredetermined time interval, i.e., the second scan line 82 is fusedwithin the predetermined time interval after fusion of the first scanline 81. Within the predetermined time interval at least oneintermediate scan line may be fused at another position. This may forinstance be within the first three-dimensional article or in the secondthree dimensional article or in any other three dimensional article ifmore than 2 articles is to be manufactured at the same time. If theintermediate scan line is to be fused within the first three dimensionalarticle A, the intermediate scan line may be positioned at apredetermined distance away from the first and second scan line. Ifprovided to close to the first and/or second scan line it may disturbthe build temperature and the process may be slowed down in order toachieve the desired build temperature range. Providing the intermediatescan line at the predetermined distance away from the first and secondscan lines will maintain the manufacturing speed while keeping controlof the build temperature to fir within the predetermined temperatureinterval. In an example embodiment an intermediate scan line may beprovided in another three dimensional article if the manufacturing timemust be slowed down due to the fact that any position in the firstarticle that is still unfused will be too close to the first and secondscan lines. In another example embodiment the intermediate scan line isalways provided in another three dimensional article compared to thefirst and second scan lines.

In FIG. 8 the first three-dimensional article is scanned withessentially horizontal scan lines and the second three dimensionalarticle may be scanned with essentially vertical scan lines. In FIG. 9it is illustrated a second powder layer which is provided on top of thepartially fused first powder layer. In FIG. 9 the first threedimensional article A is scanned with essentially vertical scan linesand the second three dimensional article B is scanned with essentiallyhorizontal scan lines. Of course, the rotation of the scan lines for thesecond layer may not as indicated in FIGS. 8 and 9 be rotated 90°, butmay be rotated any angle α, where 1°≦α≦179°. In an example embodimentthe rotation between layer one and two for the first article A may bedifferent to the rotation of the scan lines between layer one and twofor article B.

In the second layer two adjacent scan lines, for instance scan line 91and scan line 92 in the first three dimensional article A may be fusedwithin a predetermined time interval, i.e., the second scan line 92 maybe fused within the predetermined time interval after fusion of thefirst scan line 91. Within the predetermined time interval at least oneintermediate scan line may be fused at another position. This may forinstance be within the first three-dimensional article A or in thesecond three dimensional article B or in any other three dimensionalarticle if more than 2 articles is to be manufactured at the same time.If the intermediate scan line is to be fused within the first threedimensional article A, the intermediate scan line may be positioned at apredetermined distance away from the first and second scan line for thesame reason as disclosed above in relation to layer one.

If the time interval mentioned above is too short the build temperatureof a particular article will be too high since the second scan line willarrive adjacent to an already fused position in the particular articleand thereby affect the build temperature of the article. On the otherhand, if the time interval is too long, the build temperature will betoo low since it will take too long time until the second scan line willarrive adjacent to the already fused position, i.e., the article hascooled down too much to maintain a predetermined build temperatureinterval.

In another example embodiment the energy beam is directed over thesecond powder layer causing the second powder layer to fuse in secondselected locations according to corresponding models to form a secondcross section of the three dimensional articles, where the energy beamis fusing the first article with parallel scan lines in a thirddirection and the second article with parallel scan lines in a fourthdirection. Fusing a second scan line in the third direction in a firstarticle in the second layer within a predetermined time interval afterfusing a first scan line in the first article in the first direction,wherein at least N first scan lines in N different articles in the firstdirection is fused within the time interval. According to variousembodiments, it should be understood that N is an integer 1≦N.

It will be appreciated that many variations of the above systems andmethods are possible, and that deviation from the above embodiments arepossible, but yet within the scope of the claims. Many modifications andother embodiments of the invention set forth herein will come to mind toone skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having thebenefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings. Such modifications may, for example, involve usinga different source of ray gun than the exemplified electron beam such aslaser beam. Other materials than metallic powder may be used such aspowders of polymers and powder of ceramics. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

That which is claimed:
 1. An apparatus for forming at least onethree-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of a powderbed, which parts correspond to successive cross sections of thethree-dimensional article, said apparatus comprising: a build chamber; awork table onto which layers of powdery material are to be placed; atleast one high energy beam source; and at least one control unitconfigured for: applying a first powder layer on the work table inaccordance with at least one model of the at least two separatethree-dimensional regions; directing a first energy beam from the atleast one high energy beam source over said work table causing saidfirst powder layer to fuse in first selected locations according to thecorresponding model to form a first cross section of said at least onethree-dimensional article, where said first energy beam is fusing afirst article with parallel scan lines in a first direction; and fusinga second scan line in said first direction in said first layer in saidfirst article within a predetermined time interval after fusing a firstscan line in said first article, wherein at least one intermediate scanline is fused within said time interval at another predeterminedposition and where said first and second scan lines are adjacent to eachother.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said intermediatescan line is provided at a predetermined distance from said first andsecond scan lines.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, where thecontrol unit is further configured for: applying a second powder layeron the at least partially fused first powder layer; directing the energybeam over said second powder layer causing said second powder layer tofuse in second selected locations according to a corresponding model toform a second cross section of the three dimensional article, where theenergy beam is fusing said first article with parallel scan lines in asecond direction; and fusing a second scan line in said second directionin said first article in said second layer within a predetermined timeinterval after fusing a first scan line in said first article in saidsecond direction, wherein at least one intermediate scan lines is fusedwithin said time interval at another predetermined position and wheresaid first and second scan lines in said second direction are adjacentto each other.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein saidintermediate scan line is within said first article.
 5. The apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein said intermediate scan line is provided ata predetermined distance from said first and second scan lines.
 6. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein said intermediate scan line is inanother article.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the atleast one high energy beam source comprises a first energy beam sourceand a second energy beam source; the first scan line in at least onelayer of the at least one three-dimensional article is fused with afirst energy beam from the first energy beam source and a second scanline in at least one layer of the at least one three-dimensional articleis fused with a second energy beam from the second energy beam source.8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first energy beamsource is a first electron beam source and said second energy beamsource is a first laser beam source.
 9. The apparatus according to claim7, wherein said first energy beam source is a first electron beam sourceand said second energy beam source is a second electron beam source. 10.The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first energy beamsource is a first laser beam source and said second energy beam sourceis a second laser beam source.
 11. The apparatus according to claim 3,wherein said first direction is rotated an angle α with respect to saidsecond direction, where 1°≦α≦179°.
 12. The apparatus according to claim1, wherein the scan lines in at least one layer of at least onethree-dimensional article are straight lines.
 13. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the scan lines in at least one layer of atleast one three-dimensional region are meandering lines.
 14. Theapparatus according to claim 3, wherein said first direction isperpendicular to said second direction.
 15. The apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein said first and second energy beams are fusing at leastsaid first and said intermediate scan lines substantiallysimultaneously.
 16. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein saidfirst and second energy beams are fusing at least said second and saidintermediate scan lines substantially simultaneously.
 17. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said powder is selected from a groupconsisting of metallic powder, polymer powder, and ceramic powder. 18.The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the build chamber is avacuum chamber.